Hi everybody,
I’m looking for some advice on a new mac purchase.
I need a mac primarily for design, editing and 2D/3D motion graphics but also everyday use.
I also need a monitor as I’ve been using a MBP retina up to now.
So I’m thinking of getting the following:
imac retina
4.0GHz Quad Core i7 (turbo boost up to 4.4Ghz)
32GB ram
with AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
Which will be fine for most tasks (I’ll keep my laptop for team render) but no Nvidia = no CUDA.
I have a big shopping list of things I’m continuing to learn but pretty soon I’m going to want to try GPU rendering, almost certainly using Octane as it seems to have the biggest take-up of any GPU based renderer.
I know I probably should get a PC at this stage, but I’m kicking and screaming against it for many reasons which I won’t detail here.
My question is once I reach that point and assuming Open CL take up is still some time away will I be able to connect an external chassis, power unit and a 2-3 Nvidia/cuda cards, connected to my iMac retina over Thunderbolt 2?
At this point my limited understanding melts my puny brain. I have all kinds of concerns about cooling/blowing up expensive graphics cards and I have no idea if this is even possible over Thunderbolt 2. Maybe the data will be too much to handle through a single thunderbolt connection. Will the iMac recognise the cards connected in this way, will Octane be as responsive as if it was connected over PCI? etc etc…
I’m sure a lot of freelancers/small studios are also pondering the future of GPU rendering using macs so any help is really appreciated before I waste my dollars on a grand plan that won’t pan out. Like I said, I know a Windows PC makes the most sense but I’m looking for a mac only solution.
Many thanks!
External GPU for imac Retina?
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hi there =)
that new 5k iMac is so cool, the only downside as You pointed is it doesn't have nVidia card..(considering cooling thermal design, other thermal issues, etc it's no surprise either why they, I mean Apple, chose that route =)
External GPU is possible & there are tons of solutions if You want to connect, just keep in mind that doesn't work straight "out-of-the-box" - You might end up having to solve some issues, mainly because of Thunderbolt (with PCIe expansion things are less complicated), but You wouldn't have that possibility on iMac.
The best thread related to eGPUs for mac You'll find here: Guy tested quite a few cards & came to some conclusions - it's a great place to start if You're really interested in using Octane Render on You new piece of hardware.
I do understand why people use MacOS (& macs overall, actually writing this from MBA =) but for GPU heavy work..PC would be the best deal..(value wise & so) -maybe some headache building a Hackintosh is an option too (I know it's not for everyone).
External expansion is more than possible: Netstor, Magma, Sonet..-are just a few of companies to mention if You want to look for external enclosures, however keep in mind, that if You would like to house more than one GPU in single box, You will have to pay a price for that (1000-2000$). As always there are less expensive options, but might be more messy.
Have a great time doing research 7 feel free to come back with more questions/ideas if You're need some guidance, links or general info =) though if You do some searching on this forum You'll find plenty of usefull stuff!
cheers
that new 5k iMac is so cool, the only downside as You pointed is it doesn't have nVidia card..(considering cooling thermal design, other thermal issues, etc it's no surprise either why they, I mean Apple, chose that route =)
External GPU is possible & there are tons of solutions if You want to connect, just keep in mind that doesn't work straight "out-of-the-box" - You might end up having to solve some issues, mainly because of Thunderbolt (with PCIe expansion things are less complicated), but You wouldn't have that possibility on iMac.
The best thread related to eGPUs for mac You'll find here: Guy tested quite a few cards & came to some conclusions - it's a great place to start if You're really interested in using Octane Render on You new piece of hardware.
I do understand why people use MacOS (& macs overall, actually writing this from MBA =) but for GPU heavy work..PC would be the best deal..(value wise & so) -maybe some headache building a Hackintosh is an option too (I know it's not for everyone).
External expansion is more than possible: Netstor, Magma, Sonet..-are just a few of companies to mention if You want to look for external enclosures, however keep in mind, that if You would like to house more than one GPU in single box, You will have to pay a price for that (1000-2000$). As always there are less expensive options, but might be more messy.
Have a great time doing research 7 feel free to come back with more questions/ideas if You're need some guidance, links or general info =) though if You do some searching on this forum You'll find plenty of usefull stuff!
cheers
-
vectorhands
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2015 3:53 am
Thanks so much for the reply.
It seems like the eGPU/chassis idea will be too expensive and that it could all be for nothing if Apple stop supporting drivers etc.
So I'm starting to come around to the idea of building a PC.
What absolutely terrifies me is my complete lack of understanding with this stuff.
It's been about 15 years since I built a PC and the idea of picking parts is quite intimidating.
I have a budget of about 4k (Australian Dollars).
For that I would like at least equivalent (if not better) build than the imac retina, with decent GFX card to support Octane, and expandable if I find the budget to add more.
Imac retina:
4.0ghz qUAD Core Intel i7
8 GB Ram default
1 TB storage drive
4GB Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
$3600
Cost of extra ram (to32gb): $495
Total cost: 4095
The other thing is that I'll need a monitor - something decent for video/design work and probably 27".
How would you recommend I go about finding parts?
Any advice you can give this newbie to the PC world would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
It seems like the eGPU/chassis idea will be too expensive and that it could all be for nothing if Apple stop supporting drivers etc.
So I'm starting to come around to the idea of building a PC.
What absolutely terrifies me is my complete lack of understanding with this stuff.
It's been about 15 years since I built a PC and the idea of picking parts is quite intimidating.
I have a budget of about 4k (Australian Dollars).
For that I would like at least equivalent (if not better) build than the imac retina, with decent GFX card to support Octane, and expandable if I find the budget to add more.
Imac retina:
4.0ghz qUAD Core Intel i7
8 GB Ram default
1 TB storage drive
4GB Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
$3600
Cost of extra ram (to32gb): $495
Total cost: 4095
The other thing is that I'll need a monitor - something decent for video/design work and probably 27".
How would you recommend I go about finding parts?
Any advice you can give this newbie to the PC world would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
-
rafaelcordeiro
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:10 pm
Hi guys.
I'm new here at the forum. I wanna start using Octane render recommended by a friend but he uses a Mac Pro and I an iMac Retina.
I'll use essentially for render work only. I'm a Cinema 4D user.
Before I get the hardware I wanna be sure that works on my Mac running El Capitan OS.
Is it possible?
Here's my config:
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
• 4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
This is the GPU I wanna get: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Installed-Ba ... tx+980+6gb
Here the case box: http://www.amazon.com/Akitio-AMZ-T2PC-T ... ternal+gpu
What you guys recommend me? I'm not familiar with the build process at all.
Thanks in advance.
Rafael
I'm new here at the forum. I wanna start using Octane render recommended by a friend but he uses a Mac Pro and I an iMac Retina.
I'll use essentially for render work only. I'm a Cinema 4D user.
Before I get the hardware I wanna be sure that works on my Mac running El Capitan OS.
Is it possible?
Here's my config:
27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display
• 4.0GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.4GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB
• 1TB Fusion Drive
• AMD Radeon R9 M290X 2GB GDDR5
This is the GPU I wanna get: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Installed-Ba ... tx+980+6gb
Here the case box: http://www.amazon.com/Akitio-AMZ-T2PC-T ... ternal+gpu
What you guys recommend me? I'm not familiar with the build process at all.
Thanks in advance.
Rafael
Did you attempt this? I am in the exact same position, user of Cinema 4D and got sick of my laptop's GPU. I am in absolute denial of making a PC.vectorhands wrote:Hi everybody,
I’m looking for some advice on a new mac purchase.
I need a mac primarily for design, editing and 2D/3D motion graphics but also everyday use.
I also need a monitor as I’ve been using a MBP retina up to now.
So I’m thinking of getting the following:
imac retina
4.0GHz Quad Core i7 (turbo boost up to 4.4Ghz)
32GB ram
with AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
Which will be fine for most tasks (I’ll keep my laptop for team render) but no Nvidia = no CUDA.
I have a big shopping list of things I’m continuing to learn but pretty soon I’m going to want to try GPU rendering, almost certainly using Octane as it seems to have the biggest take-up of any GPU based renderer.
I know I probably should get a PC at this stage, but I’m kicking and screaming against it for many reasons which I won’t detail here.
My question is once I reach that point and assuming Open CL take up is still some time away will I be able to connect an external chassis, power unit and a 2-3 Nvidia/cuda cards, connected to my iMac retina over Thunderbolt 2?
At this point my limited understanding melts my puny brain. I have all kinds of concerns about cooling/blowing up expensive graphics cards and I have no idea if this is even possible over Thunderbolt 2. Maybe the data will be too much to handle through a single thunderbolt connection. Will the iMac recognise the cards connected in this way, will Octane be as responsive as if it was connected over PCI? etc etc…
I’m sure a lot of freelancers/small studios are also pondering the future of GPU rendering using macs so any help is really appreciated before I waste my dollars on a grand plan that won’t pan out. Like I said, I know a Windows PC makes the most sense but I’m looking for a mac only solution.
Many thanks!